U.S. patent application number 14/911073 was filed with the patent office on 2016-06-23 for information processing apparatus, input method and program.
This patent application is currently assigned to NEC Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is NEC CORPORATION. Invention is credited to KOUSUKE MARUI.
Application Number | 20160179239 14/911073 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52628101 |
Filed Date | 2016-06-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160179239 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
MARUI; KOUSUKE |
June 23, 2016 |
INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INPUT METHOD AND PROGRAM
Abstract
To provide an information processing apparatus that can solve
the problem in which highly accurate input action cannot be
realized. A contact detection unit (21) detects contact by an input
means. A sound detection unit (22) detects a sound generated upon
contact being made. An input determination unit (23) that
determines input action using the input means, based on the
waveform of the sound and based on the contact.
Inventors: |
MARUI; KOUSUKE; (Kawasaki,
JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
NEC CORPORATION |
Minato-ku, Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
NEC Corporation
Minato-ku, Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
52628101 |
Appl. No.: |
14/911073 |
Filed: |
April 10, 2014 |
PCT Filed: |
April 10, 2014 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP2014/060371 |
371 Date: |
February 9, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
345/177 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/16 20130101; G06F
3/043 20130101; G06F 2203/04106 20130101; G06F 3/0412 20130101;
G06F 3/0416 20130101; G06F 3/167 20130101; G06F 2200/1636
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/043 20060101
G06F003/043; G06F 3/16 20060101 G06F003/16; G06F 3/041 20060101
G06F003/041 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 9, 2013 |
JP |
2013-185919 |
Claims
1. An information processing apparatus comprising: a contact
detection unit for detecting contact by an input means; a sound
detection unit for detecting a sound generated upon contact being
made; and, an input determination unit that determines input action
using the input means, based on the waveform of the sound and based
on the contact.
2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
further comprising: a storage unit for storing plural pieces of
registered sound information each representing a registered sound,
wherein the input determination unit compares the waveform of the
generated sound with the waveform of each registered sound, and
determines the input action based on the comparison result and
based on the contact.
3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein the input determination unit compares the waveform of the
generated sound with the waveform of each registered sound, and
calculates the degree of similarity of the waveform of the
generated sound with the waveform of each registered sound.
4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3,
wherein the storage unit stores, for each contact method in which
the input means contacts the contact detection unit, the registered
sound information representing a sound corresponding to the contact
method as the registered sound, and the input determination unit
determines the input action, based on the contact method
corresponding to a registered sound that has the waveform having
the highest degree of similarity and based on the contact.
5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4,
wherein, when the highest degree of similarity among the degrees of
similarity is equal to or greater than a threshold, the input
determination unit determines the input action, based on the
contact method corresponding to a registered sound having the
waveform of the highest degree of similarity and based on the
contact.
6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the input determination unit determines the input action,
based on the waveform of the sound detected within a predetermined
time period from the start of detection of the contact.
7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the input determination unit determines the input action,
based on the waveform of the sound detected from the start of
detection of the contact up to when the intensity of the sound
becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined level.
8. An input method comprising the steps of: detecting contact by an
input means; detecting a sound generated upon contact being made;
and, determining input action using the input means, based on the
waveform of the sound and based on the contact.
9. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium recording a
program for causing a computer to execute: a step of detecting
contact by an input means; a step of detecting a sound generated
upon contact being made; and, a step of determining input action
using the input means, based on the waveform of the sound and based
on the contact.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing
apparatus equipped with a touch type input device.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] For information processing apparatuses such as smartphones,
touch type input devices have been widespread as input means.
Conventionally, in the touch input device, the contact position at
which an input means such as a finger, stylus or the like is
touched is detected. However, there is a problem in that detection
of the contact position only limits input action using the input
means.
[0003] Therefore, recently, touch input devices that detect the
contact area, change of the contact position, change of the contact
area and others in addition to the contact position have been
developed.
[0004] Further, Patent Document 1 discloses an information
processing apparatus that, instead of detecting the contact area,
detects vibration information relating to a contact sound that is
emitted when a manipulator such as an input means touches the
control surface. This information processing apparatus, by
comparing the sound intensity of the contact sound with a threshold
value based on the detected vibration information, classifies the
manipulators into two predetermined types and performs an operation
in accordance with the classified type.
RELATED ART DOCUMENTS
Patent Documents
[0005] Patent Document 1: JP2011-028555A
SUMMARY
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0006] Since, in the information processing apparatus according to
Patent Document 1, the manipulators are classified into two
predetermined types by comparing the sound intensity of the contact
sound with a threshold value, this configuration has the problem in
which it is impossible to achieve highly accurate input action.
[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide an
information processing apparatus, input method and program that can
solve the above problem, or the problem in which highly accurate
input action cannot be realized.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0008] An information processing apparatus of an exemplary aspect
of the present invention includes: a contact detection unit for
detecting contact by an input means; a sound detection unit for
detecting a sound generated upon making contact; and an input
determination unit that determines input action using the input
means, based on the waveform of the sound and based on the
contact.
[0009] An input method of an exemplary aspect of the present
invention includes the steps of: detecting contact by an input
means; detecting a sound generated upon making contact; and
determining input action using the input means, based on the
waveform of the sound and base on the contact.
[0010] A program of an exemplary aspect of the present invention
causes a computer to execute: a step of detecting contact made by
an input means; a step of detecting a sound generated upon making
contact; and a step of determining input action using the input
means, based on the waveform of the sound and based on the
contact.
Effect of the Invention
[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to
realize highly accurate input action.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an
information processing apparatus of the first exemplary embodiment
of the present invention.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a flow chart for illustrating one example of the
operation of an information processing apparatus of the first
exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing one example of a contact
method.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an
information processing apparatus of the second exemplary embodiment
of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 5 is a flow chart for illustrating one example of the
operation of an information processing apparatus of the second
exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT
[0017] Now, the exemplary embodiments of the present invention will
be described with reference to the drawings. In the following
description, components having the same functions may be allotted
the same reference numerals without description.
[0018] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an
information processing apparatus of the first exemplary embodiment
in the present invention. Information processing apparatus 10 shown
in FIG. 1 includes contact detection unit 1, sound detection unit
2, storage unit 3, display unit 4 and input determination unit 5.
Information processing apparatus 10 is, for example a mobile phone,
smartphone, game machine, PC (Personal Computer), PDA (Personal
Digital Assistance: mobile information terminal) or the like. PCs
may include tablet PCs, notebook PCs and others.
[0019] Contact detection unit 1 detects contact made by an input
means and outputs a detection signal representing the detection
result. The detection signal shows the detection result, for
example, the contact position and contact area that the input means
touches.
[0020] Here, contact detection unit 1 is, for example a touch
panel, a touch sensor and the like. The detection mechanism for
detecting contact is not particularly limited, but electrostatic
capacitive mechanism and others can be mentioned. The input means
may be, for example a finger, stylus or the like.
[0021] Sound detection unit 2 detects a generated sound that is
emitted when the input means makes contact with contact detection
unit 1 that then outputs a sound generation signal that represents
the generated sound. Here, when information processing apparatus 10
is a mobile phone or the like, the information processing apparatus
10 may be equipped with a microphone for phone conversations. In
this case, the microphone may be shared by sound detection unit 2,
or sound detection unit 2 may be provided separately from the
microphone.
[0022] Storage unit 3 stores a variety of information. For example,
storage unit 3 stores plural pieces of registered sound information
each representing a registered sound. Specifically, the registered
sound is a sound corresponding to a contact method by which the
input means touches contact detection unit 1, and storage unit 3
stores information on a registered sound for each contact
method.
[0023] The contact methods may include, for example, a method by
which contact detection unit 1 is touched by the tip of a finger
and a method by which contact detection unit 1 is touched by the
nail of a finger. Further, the contact methods may include a method
by which contact detection unit 1 is pressed by the tip of a
finger, a method by which contact detection unit 1 is rubbed by the
tip of a finger, a method by which contact detection unit 1 is
tapped by the nail of a finger, a method by which contact detection
unit 1 is scratched by the nail of a finger, a method by which
contact detection unit 1 is tapped by a stylus, and a method by
which contact detection unit 1 is rubbed by a stylus.
[0024] Here, the registered sound information may have been stored
in advance in storage unit 3 or may be registered by the user using
information processing apparatus 10.
[0025] Display unit 4 displays a variety of information. Here,
display unit 4 may be a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display: LC display),
for example. Contact detection unit 1 may be formed integrally with
display unit 4, may be attached over display unit 4, or may be
provided separately from display unit 4. The integration of contact
detection unit 1 and display unit 4 may be realized by on-cell,
in-cell and other structures.
[0026] Input determination unit 5 determines input action using the
input means, based on the waveform of the generated sound detected
by sound detection unit 2 and based on the contact detected by
contact detection unit 1.
[0027] Specifically, input determination unit 5 determines the
input action in the following manner.
[0028] First, input determination unit 5 determines the waveform of
the generated sound represented by the sound generation signal
output from sound detection unit 2. At this time, input
determination unit 5 may determine the waveform of the generated
sound for a predetermined time period from the start of detection
of the contact by contact detection unit 1, or may determine the
waveform of the generated sound from the start of detection up to
when the intensity of the generated sound represented by the sound
generation signal becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined
level.
[0029] After determining the waveform of the generated sound, input
determination unit 5 compares the waveform of the generated sound
with each of the waveforms of the registered sounds stored as the
registered information in storage unit 3 and determines the input
action based on the result of comparison and based on the
contact.
[0030] Specifically, input determination unit 5 first compares the
waveform of the generated sound with the waveform of each of the
registered sounds to calculate the degrees of similarity between
the waveform of the generated sound and the waveforms of the
registered sounds. The method of calculating the degree of
similarity is not particularly limited, but for example, a method
of calculating a correlation function between the waveform of the
generated sound and the waveform of the registered sound as the
degree of similarity, and others may be considered.
[0031] Thereafter, input determination unit 5 judges that the
contact was performed in a contact method that corresponds to the
registered sound that has the waveform with the highest degree of
similarity to the waveform of the generated sound, and determines
the input action based on the contact method and based on the
contact. For example, input determination unit 5, based on the
contact method and based on the contact, determines the contact
position at which the input means made contact and based on its
contact method as the input action.
[0032] Here, input determination unit 5 may judge that the contact
was performed in a contact method that corresponds to the
registered sound that has the waveform with the highest degree of
similarity when the highest degree of similarity is equal to or
greater than a predetermined threshold value. In this case, when
the highest degree of similarity is lower than the threshold value,
input determination unit 5 may judge that contact was performed in
a predetermined contact method or may judge that no input action
has been performed. When it is judged that no input action has been
performed, input determination unit 5 may display error information
indicating error on display unit 4.
[0033] Next, the operation will be described.
[0034] FIG. 2 is a chart for illustrating one example of the
operation of information processing apparatus 10. Here, the
following description will be given by describing an operation when
the user scratches contact detection unit 1 with his/her nail, as
shown in FIG. 3.
[0035] As the user scratches contact detection unit 1 with his/her
nail, contact detection unit 1 detects the contact of the nail, and
outputs a detection signal indicating the detection result to input
determination unit 5 (Step S201).
[0036] Sound detection unit 2 detects the generated sound given off
when contact detection unit 1 is scratched by a finger nail and
outputs a sound generation signal representing the generated sound
to input determination unit 5 (Step S202).
[0037] Input determination unit 5, upon receiving the detection
signal and the sound generation signal, determines the waveform of
the generated sound represented by the sound generation signal
(Step S203).
[0038] Thereafter, input determination unit 5 compares the waveform
of the generated sound with the waveform of each of the registered
sounds represented by each item of registered information stored in
storage unit 3 and calculates the degree of similarity of the
waveform of the generated sound with the waveform of each of the
registered sounds (Step S204).
[0039] Then, input determination unit 5 judges whether or not the
highest degree of similarity among the calculated degrees of
similarity is equal to or greater than the threshold (Step
S205).
[0040] When the highest degree of similarity is lower than the
threshold, input determination unit 5 displays error information on
display unit 4 (Step S206) and ends the process.
[0041] On the other hand, when the highest degree of similarity is
equal to or greater than the threshold, input determination unit 5
judges that the contact was performed in a contact method
corresponding to the registered sound that has the waveform
presenting the highest degree of similarity to the waveform of the
generated sound. Then, input determination unit 5 determines the
input action based on the determined contact method and based on
the detection result indicated by the detection signal (Step S207)
and ends the process.
[0042] The configuration and operation described above is only an
example, so that the present invention should not be limited to
this.
[0043] For example, instead of comparing the waveform of the
generated sound with the waveforms of registered sounds, input
determination unit 5 may extract the change of a particular
frequency component from the waveform of the generated sound and
judges the contact method based on the change of the frequency
component.
[0044] In this example, storage unit 3 stores, for each contact
method, information representing a change in frequency in
accordance with contact method, as registered sound information.
When characteristics of a change in frequency components are
recognized for each contact method, storage unit 3 may store
information representing the characteristics of the change in
frequency components in accordance with contact method, as
registered sound information.
[0045] As described above, according to the exemplary embodiment,
since input action is determined based on the contact using the
input means and based on the waveform of the generated sound
resulting from the contact, it is possible to achieve different
input actions that corresponds to various contact methods with
various waveforms. Accordingly, it is possible to realize highly
accurate input action.
[0046] Further, in the present exemplary embodiment, because input
action is determined based on the comparison result obtained by
comparing the waveform of the generated sound with the waveform of
each of registered sounds, it is possible to determine input action
with greater accuracy.
[0047] In the present exemplary embodiment, since the degree of
similarity between the waveform of the generated sound and each
registered sound is calculated by comparing the waveform of the
generated sound with the waveform of each of the registered sounds,
it is possible to determine input action with greater accuracy.
[0048] In the present exemplary embodiment, since input action is
determined based on the contact method that corresponds to the
registered sound that has the waveform with the highest degree of
similarity and based on the contact, it is possible to determine
input action in a more exact manner.
[0049] In the present exemplary embodiment, since input action is
determined based on the waveform of the generated sound detected
for a predetermined time period from the start of detection of the
contact and based on the contact, it is possible to promptly
determine the input action.
[0050] In the present exemplary embodiment, since input action is
determined based on the waveform of the generated sound detected
from the start of detection up to when the intensity of the
generated sound becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined
level and based on the contact, it is possible to determine the
input action with greater accuracy.
[0051] Next, the second exemplary embodiment will be described.
[0052] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an
information processing apparatus of the second exemplary embodiment
of the present invention. Information processing apparatus 20 shown
in FIG. 4 includes contact detection unit 21, sound detection unit
22 and input determination unit 23.
[0053] Contact detection unit 21 detects contact by an input
means.
[0054] Sound detection unit 22 detects a sound that is emitted when
the input means makes contact with contact detection unit 21.
[0055] Input determination unit 23 determines the input action
using the input means, based on the waveform of the sound detected
by sound detection unit 22 and based on the contact detected by
contact detection unit 21.
[0056] FIG. 5 is a chart for illustrating one example of the
operation of information processing apparatus 20.
[0057] When detecting contact by the input means, contact detection
unit 21 first outputs a detection signal indicating the detection
result to input determination unit 23 (Step S501).
[0058] Sound detection unit 22 detects the sound that is emitted
when the input means makes contact with contact detection unit 21,
and outputs a sound generation signal representing the sound to
input determination unit 23 (Step S502).
[0059] Upon receiving the detection signal and the sound generation
signal, input determination unit 23 determines the input action
using the input means, based on the waveform of the sound indicated
by the sound generation signal and based on the contact indicated
by the detection signal (Step S503) and ends the process.
[0060] As described above, also in this exemplary embodiment,
since, similarly to the first exemplary embodiment, input action is
determined based on the contact using the input means and based on
the waveform of the generated sound resulting from the contact, it
is possible to realize highly accurate input action.
[0061] The configurations illustrated in the embodiments described
above are only examples, and the present invention should not be
limited to these configurations.
[0062] For example, the function of information processing
apparatus 10 and 20 may also be realized by recording a program for
realizing the function on a computer-readable recording medium, and
causing a computer to read and execute the program recorded on the
recording medium.
[0063] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of
priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-185919, filed on
Sep. 9, 2013, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its
entirety.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
[0064] 1, 21 contact detection unit
[0065] 2, 22 sound detection unit
[0066] 3 storage unit
[0067] 4 display unit
[0068] 5, 23 input determination unit
[0069] 10, 20 information processing apparatus
* * * * *